This sizzling KC Royals prospect is hotter than Jac Caglianone right now

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals, Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, is presently best-known as the baseball home of Jac Caglianone who, because he's KC's No. 1 prospect and plays like it, soaking up most of the media and fan attention the Naturals have to offer. That means some excellent Naturals players may not get the headlines they might otherwise collect.

Take the case of Peyton Wilson. Promoted to Triple-A Omaha just Monday afternoon, he, like Caglianone, is working his way up the Royal chain. Wilson has been plying his trade in the minors since the club used its Competitive Balance B selection to grab him with the 66th overall pick of the 2021 amateur draft. Not quite as impressive a draft position as Caglianone's, to be sure — Caglianone was the Royals' first pick, and sixth overall, in last year's draft.

Don't be fooled, though, by their relative draft position disparity. Caglianone is having an excellent first season at the Double-A level, but Wilson, despite playing in Caglianone's shadow, is the hottest of the two.

Just check out the numbers.

Sizzling KC Royals prospect Peyton Wilson is hotter than Jac Caglianone

Despite his recent slump, Caglianone will enter Tuesday's game at Springfield slashing .282/.360/.494 with a 129 wRC+. He leads the Naturals in homers with four and RBI with 22 and is working Double-A pitchers for walks 11% of the time. Defensively, he's played 18 games at first base and two in right field (he made his outfield debut late last week) and made two errors at first.

Excellent statistics, yes ... but Wilson's are, on balance, better. Although he's played two games fewer than Caglianone, Wilson will carry a spectacular .392/.505/.689 line into Tuesday. His 29 hits are better than Caglianone's 24, and his 14 extra-base hits (eight doubles, four triples, two home runs) better Cags' 10 (six doubles, no triples, four homers) by four. And speed? Wilson has eight steals, Caglianone one.

Defensively, Wilson is spending most of his time at second base but has also played third and center field. Like Caglianone, he's erred twice.

How long Wilson can, and will, Wilson "out-stat" Caglianone remains to be seen. Just as interesting is the question of which of the two stellar prospects will make it to the majors first, although until Monday, when the organization bumped Wilson up to Triple-A, Caglianone's greater power potential and star power probably gave him the edge. It all depends, of course, and what the Royals need and when they need it.

But both players are clearly headed for the majors.